Thief of Love
by Suyami
Summary: A fic based on a oneshot I wrote a while ago. When Toph gets sick, the gAang must travel further into the Fire Nation, where mysterious rumors of the Painted Lady follow them wherever they go. sorry, I suck at summaries [Painted Lady x Blue Spirit]
1. Chapter 1

**Thief of Love**

_All standard disclaimers apply._

The wind on her face veil was soothing, calming, almost. Her mind was carefully blank; all that showed of her feelings was a determined look in her eyes.

Although Sokka had told her that she shouldn't use the Painted Lady costume anymore, this village needed it more than the last. The waterbender knew that the legend of the Painted Lady had spread like wildfire, and most towns they visited knew about the mysterious spirit.

The bread she had bought was carefully concealed in a fold of her cloak, as was the meat. She knew that it was hard for these river villages to get meat, and even harder for them to get bread, since their crops were failing. It would be a treat for them to eat something other than the usual meal of dried fish.

The mist that covered her arrival dissapeared when her sandaled feet landed softly on the dock of the village. She sighed softly; her arrival had gone undetected. One of the times she had gone out as the Painted Lady, the villagers had woken up and had tried to scare her away by pelting stones at her. It had worked a little too well... Sokka had been quiet curious about the bruises on her arms and legs. She had simply waved it off as something that had been there forever; he just hadn't noticed.

Katara made her way through the village, listening carefully for the slightest creak, the most insignificant lap of water. If she was caught again, it would all be over.

Her feet made almost no noise as she padded across the unsteady wood of the docks. The doorway to the main house was large, so she made it through without any unnecessary noise. Katara almost sighed in relief, but bit it back when a man stirred near her feet.

Taking small steps, she tiptoed her way around the sleeping bodies, ready to run if the need arose. Finally, she was there. She reached inside the ragged cloak and pulled out a loaf of bread. Next came the dried meat, and the healing herbs. Katara had spent days looking for the unfamiliar berries and leaves, but she knew that the sick village needed them.

After she deposited the food, she carefully made her way back to the front of the room. Taking a last glance through her veil, she walked out the doorway and jumped into the clear night air.

For a moment, she was flying. Flying, without a care in the world, without any worries or fear. Katara looked down, seeing the water rise up to meet her. With a deep breath, and a controlled motion, a good portion of the water rose up and changed into mist. Now, she could leave undetected.

She landed on a piece of ice that she formed, balancing carefully --if not gracefully-- on it. After a few moments of wind-milling, she steadied, and taking a deep breath, rose up into the air on her steed of rushing water.

Faster, faster she flew, almost as if she were airborne. Her troubles were left behind, as were her fears, her anger and hate.

_They always said I was a forgiving person _thought Katara. _I guess they never saw the real me._

She sped down the river, leaving a damp mist where ever she went. Though she had no light, the moon guided her, as it always did.

Fire, the sun, light... They weren't her friend.

Water, the moon, dark... They were her true companions.

* * *

When she got back to the camp, it was quiet, everyone in silent slumber. Trying to be as quiet as she could, she tiptoed back to her sleeping bag, before she realized she still had the costume and paint on of the Painted Lady. Cursing softly, she made her way back to the silent river, taking off her cloak, veil and hat as she went. 

Soon, she was down to her wraps. The cool air caressed her warm skin like a forgotten lover, inciting the most delicious feeling of peace from her. The trees rustled, sending leaves into the night air. She sighed, breathing in the scent of Mother Nature.

Katara stepped into the cold river, shivering slightly when she got in. Controlling her body's reaction to the cold, she bended a stream of water up into the air, letting it cascade down on her unprotected body.

It was like bathing in a vat of ice water, but she endured it. Soon the red paint was off, and the river flowed red, if only for a second. The waterbender flicked a piece of dried paint off from a nearby rock, watching it float down the street.

_I never did like red._

Katara got out of the water and dressed, bending the water off of her body with a fluid motion. She hurriedly hid her costume in her pack, praying to the spirits that the Aang and the others wouldn't wake up anytime soon. _Please, please..._

She smiled in relief when she got back to the camp. Everyone was sleeping peacefully; her fears were unfounded. Katara walked over to her sleeping bag, crawling in with the weariness of one who was drained in both body and soul.

Katara stared at the moon, listening quietly to the sounds of slow breathing around her.

_The sun and the moon... Have they always been so different? Polar opposites, two halves of the same whole... They share the same sky, circling together, but never meeting..._

Her eyes fluttered lazily, watching silently, wishing, wondering.

Against her will, her eyes shut, closing off any thoughts about the moon and the sun. Closing off all thoughts, even the unwanted ones.

* * *

"Katara," 

The waterbender groaned, turning over in her sleeping roll. Her night had been filled with unpleasant dreams. She couldn't remember much, but the only thing that remained clear were the colors; blue on a field of red and gold.

"Katara!"

The voice sounded irritated now, and was accompanied with a hand shaking her shoulder, shaking her awake. She didn't want to wake up... she was still enjoying the dreamy haze of sleep.

With a sigh, she got up, rubbing her eyes a little. The first thing that she saw was Sokka, sitting only a few paces away. "Sokka!" she growled, her eyes narrowing.

"Katara," he said, "this is serious."

She stopped her teasing, her blue eyes immediately softening. "What is it, Sokka?"

The nonbender hung his head, looking sad and powerless. The bad feeling that she had sensed before grew, until it made her feel queasy. "What is it, Sokka?" she repeated, her voice anxious. There were only a few things that would make Sokka look so defeated, so... hopeless.

"It's about Toph," he said, sounding worried, "she's getting worse."

Katara closed her eyes, praying to the spirits for the power to help her friend. Toph had been sick for a few days now, and wasn't getting better.

"Shit." she said calmly, her hands over her eyes. If their friend got any worse, they'd have to take her to a healer with medicine, and Katara knew that medicine would be hard to come by.

Sokka looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Katara," he said, "we'll help her. I know you can't heal her, but we'll find someone else."

She pretended not to notice the note of desperation in his voice, or the fact that his eyes said otherwise. "Yeah, Sokka," she said quietly, "of course we will."

* * *

A/N: Well. I'm just popping new fics up like mad, aren't I? After some good (and some bad) feedback on my PL x BS one-shot, I've decided to kind of use that plot, and twist it into a larger fic. This first chapter was going to be longer, but I'm just too tired right now. Give me some feedback on whether you'd read a fic like this, and if you want me to continue, or anything. If you guys don't want me to, I won't. -shrug- If you do, I'd love to make this a long fic. I'll try and have long chapters, and yeah! Feedback is good. Be brutal and harsh. XD Tell me if I'm moving too fast, cuz I'll cut out stuff if I am. 

Oh, and I was going to make this a more darker, sad fic (but with a happy ending), with more angst, but if more people watn a happy happy fic, let me know.

Su-Su


	2. Chapter 2

Katara held her hand to Toph's brow, her expression one of deep concern. She swept the water up from the flask at her hip with a broad hand gesture, bringing it to rest on the sick earthbender's forehead. Her hand glowed for a moment, and then it was done.

Katara wiped the sweat off her brow, still staring at Toph. She had been unconscious for hours, and Katara had hovered over the earthbender like a worried mother. Toph, however, had shown no response to anything.

Reluctantly, Katara stood up, rubbing the grit off her knees. She stared down at the sick girl, realizing for the first time that Toph was so very young. With a last touch to the girl's brow, she walked away from the sleeping area where the earthbender was sleeping.

"Aang? Sokka?" she called. No answer from either one of her companions. Katara sighed, and sat down, carefully moving her red silken robe out of the way. She looked down at her hands, still a bit wet from the water.

_Brown hands. Brown face, brown body. Why is brown so bad a color?_

She covered her face with her hands, sighing deeply. It had been a long day of healing. She peered out through the cracks of her fingers, staring up at the crown of trees in the empty forest.

"Sokka?" she called. She had heard a distant noise... was that Aang? She drew some of the water out of her flask, holding it in a combative position.

Her hair was down, mussed, and her robe was wrinkled, but she was still ready to fight whatever was coming. Her eyes narrowed slyly, and she stood her ground.

_Caw!!_

Katara almost shrieked when a raptor flew out of the dense foliage, frightening her half to death. She held a hand to her throbbing heart, glaring daggers at the so called "enemy".

Katara walked over to the bird, planning to shoo it away. The bird screeched at her again, glaring at her with beady eyes. It fumbled with itself, and a strapped on carrying case. With its dexterous beak, it pulled out a tiny message. It tossed it on the ground and flew off, screeching loudly as it did so.

Katara stared at the message bemusedly, rolling it open with care. "We're at a village, pretty far from here; it's called Kismet. We have found a healer who seems to have the herbs for Toph. He says that she must have eaten some water hemlock on the way... Do you remember those berries? They grew near that bush, near enough for some of the water hemlock to rub off on the berries. Only Toph ate them... Anyhow, come by soon.

--Aang and Sokka"

Katara stared at the characters, watching them blur slightly. So _that_ was why they had abandoned a few days ago! She had looked for them, but they had already left.

Katara shook her head and stuck the piece of paper in a fold of her silken robe. She brushed her hair out of her face, sighing slightly. She'd have to take Toph on Appa --thank the spirits Aang and Sokka had left him--. Katara got up with care, brushing her hair out of her face with a swipe of her hand. She walked over to where the sky bison usually rested, but was shocked to find that he wasn't there.

"Appa?" she called. She looked around, her brow furrowing slightly. Then, it hit her. How could Aang and Sokka have reached the town in such short time? They must have forgotten that she didn't have any ride. She and Toph would have to walk.

Katara walked over to Toph, picking up random articles of clothing on the way. "Toph," she called out, "They abandoned us." She got no response from the earthbender, who was lying prone on the ground. "Wake up!" she cried.

Katara sighed, and crouched down to feel the girl's temperature. She was still burning up. Katara began to pack the rest of their stuff as she waited for a response from the sick girl. After everything had been rolled into neat little piles, she walked back over to the earthbender. "C'mon, Toph, we have to go! Sokka will be worried about us both." Katara frowned when even the mention of Sokka's name elicited no response. Katara shouldered her pack and reached down to pick the small girl up in her arms. She was surprisingly light, and Katara picked her up easily.

"Let's go, Toph," she murmured to the earthbender, "We've got a ways to go."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long... I had it (luckily) on so it didn't blow up along with my computer. Tell me what you think, and whether I should include Tokka as a side pairing. Oh, and so sorry that it's so short. TT-TT

Su-Su


End file.
